Information Rights Management

• US 20080313699A1
• Filed: 06/13/2007
• Published: 12/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Claessens, Joris, Orlov, Alexey, Starostin, Dmitry V.
• Granted Patent: US 7,913,309 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources

Abstract

Information rights management (IRM) systems enable information to be protected after it has been accessed by or delivered to an authorized individual. For example, this might be to allow an email to be viewed for a limited time by specified individuals but to prevent that email from being forwarded. However, existing IRM systems are limited in the situations in which they may operate. An IRM server is provided which communicates with one or more policy evaluators which are independent of the IRM server. Results from the different policy evaluators may be combined by the IRM server and one or more identity providers may be used in conjunction with each policy evaluator. By enabling the IRM server to act as a broker between authors, recipients and policy evaluators situations in which IRM systems may operate are greatly extended.

Claims

1. A method of information rights management at an information rights management server comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for an issue license the request comprising information rights policy details;

issuing an issue license on the basis of the information rights policy details the issue license comprising information about one or more policy evaluators each policy evaluator being independent of the information rights management server;

receiving a request for a use license;

sending an evaluation request to each of the policy evaluators;

issuing a use license on the basis of responses received from the policy evaluators.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of issuing the issue license comprises generating the issue license such that it comprises a policy container.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of issuing the issue license comprises generating the issue license such that it comprises a policy container arranged to hold at least a reference to information about the information rights policy details and at least a reference to information about how to combine results from each of the policy evaluators.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of issuing the issue license comprises generating the issue license such that it comprises a policy container holding information rights policy details.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of issuing the issue license comprises generating the issue license such that it comprises a policy container holding information rights policy details and information about how to combine results from each of the policy evaluators.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the issue license comprises, for each policy evaluator, information about one or more associated claim providers.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the issue license comprises, for each policy evaluator, an information rights policy field arranged to store information to be sent to the respective policy evaluator.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises receiving the request for the use license from a recipient, that request comprising claim information associated with the recipient.

9. An information rights management server comprising:

an input arranged to receive a request for an issue license the request comprising information rights policy details;

a communications link to one or more policy evaluators each policy evaluator being independent of the information rights management server;

a processor arranged to generate an issue license on the basis of the information rights policy details and comprising information about one or more of the policy evaluators;

an input arranged to receive a request for a use license;

the processor being arranged to send an evaluation request to each of the policy evaluators via the communications link; and

an output arranged to issue a use license on the basis of responses received from the policy evaluators.

10. An information rights management server as claimed in claim 9 wherein the processor is arranged to generate the issue license such that it comprises a policy container.

11. An information rights management server as claimed in claim 10 wherein the processor is arranged to generate the issue license such that it comprises a policy container arranged to hold at least a reference to information about the information rights policy details and at least a reference to information about how to combine results from each of the policy evaluators.

12. An information rights management server as claimed in claim 10 wherein the processor is arranged to generate the issue license such that it comprises a policy container holding information rights policy details and information about how to combine results from each of the policy evaluators.

13. An information rights management server as claimed in claim 9 wherein the processor is arranged to generate the issue license such that it comprises, for each policy evaluator, information about one or more associated claim providers.

14. An information rights management system comprising:

an information rights management server;

at least one policy evaluator, independent of the information rights management server and in communication with the information rights management server;

a first information rights management client in communication with the information rights management server and provided at an author;

a second information rights management client in communication with the information rights management server and provided at a recipient.

15. An information rights management system as claimed in claim 14 which further comprises at least one claim provider accessible by the second information rights management client at the recipient.

16. An information rights management system as claimed in claim 14 which further comprises a first and a second claim provider accessible by the second information rights management client at the recipient, the first and second claim providers each being operable with one or more of the policy evaluators.

17. An information rights management system as claimed in claim 14 which further comprises a second information rights management server in communication with the first information rights management server and wherein the first and second information rights management servers are arranged to accept and interpret communications from one another.

18. An information rights management system as claimed in claim 14 which comprises a plurality of information rights management servers.

19. An information rights management system as claimed in claim 14 which further comprises a second information rights management server and a first and a second claim provider accessible by the second information rights management client at the recipient, the first and second claim providers each being operable with one or more of the policy evaluators.

20. An information rights management system as claimed in claim 14 which further comprises a second information rights management server and wherein the client at the author is registered with the first server and the client at the recipient is registered with the second server.